Tony Brass, a well-known lawyer who also represented Nima Momeni, the alleged assassin of Bob Lee, was hired late last week to represent Mayor Thao after an FBI raid on her Oakland home.
“I have formally resigned from my role as Sheng Thao’s advisor,” Brass texted Bay City News.
On Oakland’s problematic Hegenberger Boulevard, another company has closed.
For many days, the mayor refrained from discussing the raid or the horrific shooting that took place in Oakland on Wednesday, whereby fifteen individuals were shot at a Juneteenth celebration. She finally spoke out on Monday, giving a quick address to the shooting before making a passionate and sometimes tearful speech on the raid.
According to KRON4.com, Mayor Thao made a statement in which she hinted that the FBI raid was related to a recall attempt that was still underway against her. She did not disclose this information to her lawyers beforehand. She sometimes said that a “handful of billionaires” from Piedmont and San Francisco, together with “radical rightwing forces,” were “hellbent” on removing her from office.
She offered no proof for such assertions.
A representative of Mayor Thao’s office informed the media before the press conference that she would not be fielding any questions since her counsel had directed her not to. Brass, however, admitted to KRON4 that he was unaware of the planned press conference until he saw it on the television.
When KRON4 News contacted Mayor Thao’s office, they were informed that on Saturday, the mayor advised Tony Brass that she was switching counsel.
In response to the statement from the mayor’s office, Brass told KRON4 he had not heard from Thao about switching counsel on Saturday and called it completely false. He told KRON4 again that he told the mayor on Monday morning that he was pulling out.
Thao sent the following statement to KRON4:
“Thank you to Tony Brass for giving me some preliminary legal advice. He gave me more insight into the inquiry and my legal alternatives. I received fresh legal counsel over the weekend and appreciated Mr. Brass’s advice. The identity of my new attorney will be disclosed as soon as negotiations are completed.
